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I really wouldn't waste the time to get a second bachelor's in psych. Volunteering in a research lab or snagging a paid research coordinator position are better ideas. If you are really intent on going back to school, a masters in psych will look better than. 2nd bachelor's. As long as you have the pre-reqs a specific BA/BS in psych isn't going to improve your chances over getting more research experience. 

Do literature searches to identify your potential PI's and apply based on research fit, not rankings. There is no school that should be viewed as out of reach or a safety school, it mostly comes down to fit so apply with intention.

Hey all! Last year, someone started a reflections and advice thread, and reading it gave me valuable perspective as I went through the process this past fall/winter. Now that we're all one year older and wiser, I was thinking we can share some insights for next year's batch of applicants!
 
These are some things I learned from this process:
- Don't do this alone.  Looking back at my first draft of my SOP versus the final draft after months of meeting with one of my professors for feedback, it's night and day. I would have been so lost if I had insisted on doing everything by myself. Having a good support system is so, so, so important.
- Publications are overrated.  My biggest anxiety during the app process was that I was at a major disadvantage because I don't have any publications. However, I was pleasantly surprised that PIs seemed so interested in my prior research despite never publishing. I really do think they care more about experience and potential than publication record.
- Recommendation letters matter WAY more than you think they do.  I was shocked by how often my letters were brought up during interviews. The non-academic content of these letters also carries a surprising amount of weight. PIs are looking for genuinely decent people that they can get along with, and they get information about your character from your LORs. 
- Interview visits aren't meant to be formal/stressful.  Every one of these visits was so fun and relaxed. I was shocked by how few candidates were left at that point and how informal everybody was. It was great just to meet so many interesting people and gain the insight I needed to make my decision. 
- You're going to end up where you belong.  I always assumed it would be impossible to get into my top programs. What I didn't realize was that since my top programs were the ones where I had the best fit with PIs' research, I would actually be more likely to get into those programs than ones where I was less of a fit. I found my perfect program match, and they found their perfect match in me!
- You DESERVE your success.  Ultimately, as competitive of a process this is, people do succeed. That person will (at some point, if not this cycle) be you, and when it is, be proud! You've earned it. 

Ugh, he sounds like someone who would be an awful advisor. This was an awful interview because of him, not you! You're amazing and brilliant and absolutely qualified to be in a PhD program. Doesn't sound like someone I'd want to work with for 5-6 years. I want to be somewhere where I'm appreciated, not that makes me cry during first impressions, but I know this is a very personal process.
About the letter, that is unfortunate if it's true (not that you're lying but that he might be exaggerating), but hopefully your LOR writer wouldn't have agreed to submit a letter if they didn't believe in you. 
Try to stay strong but if you need some time to sit in the disappointment, then you take it! I'm in my own pit today :).

Some things I saw people do that gave of bad vibes:
- Not talk with anybody (creep vibes) or only talk with people who are in their prospective lab. We are ALL going to give feedback on you as grad students if we can. NEVER say things like oh 'I don't want to talk with X/X's prospectives/X's grad student because I'm not going to go to their lab anyway' - that is just rude). It doesn't mean that you have to talk with EVERY person in the room, but try to just talk with people and just ask where they're from and what their research is about. Probably ask what they like about their current school and what the school could do better.
- Generally don't say things as oh I don't have an research questions, I just like analyzing data or things like that. Know what you want to do - even if it's just a broad topic that you feel comfortable talking about. Like what are you interested in?
- Try to avoid making negative comments about your current institute. It's fine to ask about work-life balance and mentoring style. But don't frame ti as 'is PI easily available, because my current one is never there'.

Just cancel. Open a stop for someone else. I got accepted to my top choice and had to cancel 5 interviews. Everyone except one took it well.

I agree with everything Modulus said. I just wanted to add one thing. If you are really certain of your decision, declining the interview may also open up that slot to someone who may have been waitlisted for an interview. So if you would be going just for the sake of going and not really considering it, I would opt for reaching out. I don't think it would burn any bridges. I would phrase it something like this: "thank you so much for the interview opportunity. However, I have recently been offered acceptance to a different program and will be committing to that offer."

I hate group interviews, because you do not have the ability to build rapport. It's more of a rapid fire question and answer period. I would suggest attempting to speak first once or twice, but don't try and dominate by answering first every time. Try to use other students name if you have an answer similar to them (i.e. "Similar to ____, I also find cognitive behavioral therapy to be the most intriguing"). Helps to make you look more sociable. This should be obvious, but never try to one-up the other people. From what I've heard, group interviews are more about how you interact with the others rather than your actual answers. Don't take this time to brag about your achievements, rather just try to give thoughtful answers. Hope this helps!

I always asked some variation of “what is your favourite thing about the program/department?” I thought it was interesting because sometimes I got wildly different answers, while other times all the faculty gave the same answer (unintentionally). 
 
Similarly, I like asking why I should choose that program. Faculty seem to like that question and I’ve always gotten good responses.

My funding was in my formal offer letter and it did tell me the amount. Don’t accept any offer without the funding details clearly laid out. 

I've only had one interview weekend so far, but my best advice is to try to match and feed off of your interviewer's energy. I agree that the "personality check" is definitely a big component of the interview, but I think your general vibe is more important than working in any particular content about your hobbies or personal experiences, unless that comes up naturally. My advice is to be as open and positive as possible. If you're nervous, make sure to correct for that as much as possible in your posture and face. Good eye contact, smiles, confidence, and calm, non-rushed answers can go a really long way I think. The interviewer is trying to assess whether you are competent enough to succeed and whether you're a good fit socially. If you can come in and speak confidently and appear at ease, they'll be convinced of those things.
Also, one of my biggest tips is to look up anyone you're interviewing with on Twitter and see if they've (re)tweeted any interview tips. Several of my profs have done so and it can be really advantageous to read to get a better sense of what they're looking for and what questions they're likely to ask. Be prepared!

Just had my first interview. I think it went well. 
 
Things I didn't expect:
-How little time was interviewing. 2 1-on-1 interviews (30 minutes each) and the rest was talking to grad students, dinner social, round table discussions, a presentation, and campus tours. 
-The awkwardness of talking to the clinical director and other administrative staff. It was really hard to come up with questions for them (and this was after a presentation about the program that already answered any question I had). 
-How much I was grilled in one of my interviews. The prof was actually asking me about specific details from my POI's journal articles. 
-How casual and comfortable the interview with my POI was! 
-How honest and upfront the grad students were with me about funding, stipend, and my POI's positives and negatives.
-How interesting it was to talk to the other applicants. Also, how much time I spent around/socializing with the other applicants. 
 
Suggestions:
-Bring blister band aids, even if you think you won't need them.
-Bring floss (you'll be eating and you don't want things stuck in your teeth after breakfast/lunch).
-Plan out your bathroom visits. I'm serious. Look at your schedule and decide when would be good times to go.
-If you have a break, plan to maybe call a loved one during that time. It will be a relief to talk to someone without having to worry about your image and the loved one can give you positive affirmation and words of support. So after your call, you can head back to the interview refreshed and in a better mood. 
-Have a prepared list of questions to ask your POI, written down, that you can pull out and take notes on as your POI responds. 
-Even if you've read them before, go over your POI's recent journal articles on your flight there so everything is fresh in your mind.
-Bring Tylenol pm, so if you're too nervous to sleep before interview day, you can knock yourself out. 
-Have some prepared statements about hobbies. They shouldn't be rehearsed, but have a bullet list in your mind, because you will be surprised how often they become a talking point.

I think the best thing you can do is just be honest in your answers. Be who you are, don’t over stress your answers, try to just have a nice conversation. 

Interview questions weren’t unusual, and there’s some time built in to the day for touring and socializing, or at least that was the way it was a couple years ago. It probably goes without saying you want to be friendly and pleasant to the other candidates. You obviously won’t be expected to be conversant with every professor’s work, so if your interest is neuropsych, focus your interview prep in that direction.
BTW, the faculty are very accessible and collegial (worked as RA there before applying but wound up accepting an offer from another program). Housing near UTSW is relatively reasonable; if you decide to go and are unfamiliar with Dallas, PM me for suggestions on areas to look at/avoid.

UTSW operates on less of a mentorship model than most programs. You are aware that it is not fully funded, at least in the first year? 

Thank you for the reply!!! I was hoping it would be around that! And thank you! I’ve received mostly rejections so far, so I’m hoping this goes well ? best of luck to you also!! 

Yes, I applied both last year and for this current cycle and from what I've seen/heard, 3-5 at most is most common for one spot. That being said, I also have experience with programs that invite 8-10 applicants for one spot (I can think of two programs in particular) and frankly, like others have mentioned, it rubs me the wrong way. One of them specifically states that the odds are stacked against you if you choose to interview via Skype and do not come in person and that puts a massive financial burden on applicants for a ~ 12% likelihood of acceptance.

@webbz_world93 five to ten students interviewed per spot available in the programs I’m familiar with. Congrats on getting an interview for your top program!

Best advice I got from grad students in my lab is to book through Southwest if possible. They have no cancellation fees and you just basically get credit in your account to book another flight through them in the next year and pay the difference. This only helps if there are reasonable flights through Southwest for you and the area you're going to/coming from, but something to think about!

Some professors aren't looking for perfection. For one, it doesn't exist. And if I were in their position I would be looking for someone who is not only competent academically but also someone who I could see myself working with closely for 6+ years. I'm not claiming this is you or that every professor views applicants this way, but a lot of times the students that have the "perfect" application (i.e. top scores; a plethora of experiences) are also highly neurotic which can be good and bad. As hard as it may be during this time, keep your expectations and anxiety in check. It is not super healthy to compare yourself to your peers during this time; you are not them and I'm assuming the professors/schools they applied to are not identical to yours so you can not expect identical results. Don't set yourself up for disappointment by having unreasonable expectations. 

Just remember, more interviews does not necessarily mean more acceptances, or an acceptance at all. It's really fruitless to compare yourself to other applicants. 

All is well my dude. You have 3 interviews to clinical psychology programs; the most competitive graduate degree in the country.
There will always be someone with more interviews, more publications, and a higher salary. This field is filled with rejection at every step of your career. Schools will reject you, internships will toss your application in the trash, and reviewers will tear your manuscripts to shreds.
It sounds like you worked hard to get where you are. But there are others who worked just as hard who have weaker applications because their PI wasn't a productive scholar or who couldn't afford to volunteer for 20 hours a week.
You've made it pretty far. There are thousands of qualified people who would kill to be in your shoes. I urge you to be grateful and enjoy the process.

You're gonna be asked way less than you expect. Prepare yourself to ask a LOT of questions of the people you talk to. Don't run out of questions. 

I had my first interview this last weekend.
 
Took a carry on only, so that luggage couldn't get lost. Everyone except maybe one applicant was in a suit--couldn't tell you how that affected chances, just that that's how it was. Bring a more comfortable/slightly more casual outfit for any social events. 

This.  I'm flying American, which charges for checked bags anyway ? But these are short trips, and I'd rather not chance losing my clothes and stuff in a bag that doesn't get to the airport with me. And everything can easily fit in a carry on, really, we're just talking about a change of clothes, a small make up bag, something to sleep in.... or maybe I just travel light